The Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans is the port authority. The Board sets policy and controls traffic and commerce within the port. Seven unsalaried commissioners make up the Board. Serving five-year staggered terms, board members are appointed by the Governor from lists of nominees submitted by an assortment of 19 local maritime, civic, labor, business, and education groups that reflect the three-parish (county) jurisdiction the Board covers. The mission of the Port of New Orleans is to optimize the jobs for citizens of the State of Louisiana through cruise, maritime, and development activities.

Port of New Orleans

A Carnival Cruise Line ship contracted by FEMA is berthed behind the U.S.S Iwo Jima on the city's waterfront. Used for housing of workers and evacuees after Hurricane Katrina struck the area. Taken September 20, 2005.Photo by Win Henderson

The Port of New Orleans is the center of the Lower Mississippi River port complex in Louisiana. Connected to America's heartland by the great 23.3 thousand kilometer inland waterway of the Mississippi River and its tributaries, the Port of New Orleans is the port of choice for a wide range of cargoes that include rubber, coffee, steel, containers, and manufactured goods. Some 500 million tons of cargo moves on the Mississippi River each year, including over half of the country's grain exports. With this volume of traffic, there is no doubt why the Port of New Orleans is America's gateway to global markets.

The Port of New Orleans is the United States' only deep-water port served by six major railroads that give it cost-effective rail service to the destinations throughout the country. The productive private maritime industry in the Port of New Orleans helps it produce year after year and giving it the United State's largest market share for imported steel, plywood, coffee, and natural rubber.

The Port of New Orleans has made significant investments (some $400 million over the past decade) in assuring state-of-the-art facilities throughout the port. Revitalized container and breakbulk terminals are well equipped with multi-purpose cranes, expanded marshalling yards, and new roadways. The Port of New Orleans facilities include over 204 hectares of cargo-handling areas and more than 12 hectares of covered storage. Port facilities accommodate about two thousand vessel calls per year.

The Port of New Orleans' Napoleon Container Terminal is a $100 million 25-hectare state-of-the-art facility. The Henry Clay Avenue and Milan Street terminals in the Port of New Orleans are served by the world's longest wharf: the three kilometer wharf can accommodate up to 15 vessels at the same time. New Orleans Cold Storage a 14.8 thousand square meter dockside cold storage facility at the Jourdan Road Terminal that contains ten super-blast freezing cells. As the country's major coffee-handling port, the Port of New Orleans has 14 warehouses covering over 51 hectares of storage space and six roasting facilities.

The Port of New Orleans hosts over 700 passengers each year, and several major cruise lines – including Carnival Cruises, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian – call at port each week with excursions to the Caribbean and Mexico. In addition, several river excursions are based in the Port of New Orleans.

Industrial Canal, New Orleans

View across the Canal from the Lower 9th Ward just in from Florida Avenue to the Florida Avenue Wharf on the other side. Photo by Infrogmation

Operated by P&O Ports of Louisiana, the Port of New Orleans's Henry Clay Avenue Wharf is located on the east bank of the Mississippi River. It handles containerized, breakbulk, and palletized cargoes. Berth 1 is 256 meters long with alongside depth of 11.5 meters. It is served by rail and has an 8.8 thousand square meter shed, 15.9 thousand square meters of open area, and 14.1 thousand square meters open on land side.

Ports America Louisiana operates Nashville Avenue Wharves "A," "B," and "C" in the Port of New Orleans. Wharf "A" handles containerized, breakbulk, and palletized cargoes. Its five berths are a total of 841 meters long with alongside depth of 10.6 meters. The wharf is served by rail and contains a 70.2 thousand square meter shed, 248.4 thousand square meters of open space, and nearby cold storage facilities. The Port of New Orleans' Nashville Avenue Wharf "B" has three berths totaling 544 meters long with alongside depth of 10.6 meters. Served by rail, the wharf has 13.1 thousand square meters of shed and 248.4 thousand square meters of open storage. The Port of New Orleans' Nashville Avenue Wharf "C" is 505 meters long with alongside depth of 10.6 meters. Its three berths are served by surface rail tracks and platform-level tracks with truck service, and a 248.4 thousand square meter open storage area.

The Napoleon Container Terminal in the Port of New Orleans is operated by Ceres Gulf Inc. and Ports America Louisiana Inc. It is located on port-owned property on the east bank. The terminal covers a total of 24.7 hectares that includes an over 19-hectare marshalling area. Its two berths are a total of 426 meters long, and the facility contains 192 reefer units and capacity to handle 366 thousand TEUs per year.

The Port of New Orleans' Louisiana Avenue Complex is operated by Coastal Cargo Company. Located on the east bank, it handles containerized, breakbulk, and palletized cargoes at two berths served by rail that are a total of 484 meters long with alongside depth of 10.6 meters. The Port of New Orleans' Louisiana Avenue complex covers an area of almost 16.6 thousand square meters and contains 146.9 thousand square meters of paved back-up area.

Also operated by Coastal Cargo Company, the Port of New Orleans' Harmony Street Wharf on the east bank of the river handles mostly steel and steel products. It has two berths totaling 375 meters in length with alongside depth of 10.6 meters. Also served by rail, its facilities include an 11.7 thousand square meter shed, a 10.6 thousand square meter open area, and two truck loading areas.

The Seventh Street Wharf operated by Coastal Cargo Company is located on the Port of New Orleans' east bank area. Handling breakbulk and palletized cargoes, its two berths total 364 meters in length with alongside depth of 10.6 meters. Facilities include an 11.1 thousand square meter shed, 12.5 thousand square meters of open area, and a truck loading area.

USNS Pililaau (T-AKR 304) docked in New Orleans

U.S. Army High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV) from the 82nd Airborne Division, Ft. Bragg, N.C., are loaded onto the Military Sealift Command (MSC) large, medium-speed roll-on/roll-off ship USNS Pililaau.Photo by U.S. Navy

Empire Stevedoring operates the Port of New Orleans' First Street Wharf on the Mississippi east bank. Handling containers, breakbulk, and palletized cargoes, its two berths are 388 meters long with alongside depth of 10.6 meters. Also served by rail, its facilities include a 13 thousand square meter shed and a 9.2 thousand square meter open area.

The Port of New Orleans' Poland Avenue Wharf contains Berths 4 and 5, which are a total of 284 meters long with alongside depth of 10.6 meters. Handling conventional and containerized general cargoes in the Port of New Orleans, the facilities include a 7.8 thousand square meter shed and 8.9 thousand square meters of open area. Rail service includes the ability for direct discharge to rail or truck.

Mississippi River - New Orleans

Algiers Point is seen at right. Across the River is the East Bank of New Orleans. At far left is the lower edge of the French Quarter with the Old Mint building visible.Photo by PRA

Also on the east bank is the Port of New Orleans' Alabo Street Wharf operated by Pacorini USA Inc. Handling conventional and containerized general cargo, the wharf has two berths totaling 400 meters in length with alongside depth of 11 meters. Facilities include a 17 thousand square meter open area, a 19.3 thousand square meter marshalling area, rail connections, and direct discharge to rail and truck.

The Perry Street Wharf in the Port of New Orleans is located on the west bank. The port owned wharf is 307.5 meters long and includes an almost 14.9 thousand square meter shed and a 3.1 thousand square meter open area.

The Port of New Orleans' Governor Nicholls Street Wharf on the east bank handles conventional and containerized general cargoes. The two berths are a total 368 meters long with alongside depth of 12 meters. Served by rail, these Port of New Orleans facilities include a 14.5 thousand square meter shed and 3.5 thousand square meters of open area on the wharf. The wharf is equipped with a deck/truck loading area with capacity to handle 850 pounds per square foot.

Located in the Port of New Orleans' Industrial Canal is the France Road Container Terminal. Terminal Berth 1 is 253 meters long with alongside depths from 9 to 10 meters. The 14-hectare site is served by rail and contains a 241.5 thousand square meter marshaling area, a 6.2 thousand square meter shed, 160 reefer outlets, and 44 truck and rail bays at the shed. Terminal Berth 5 has two berths totaling 518 meters long with alongside depths from 9 to 10 meters. Also served by rail, the facilities include two consolidation sheds of a total 12.2 thousand square meters, a 195.1 thousand square meter marshalling area, 60 reefer outlets, a nitrogen chill system, and a roll-on/roll-off ramp. Terminal 4 handles containerized cargo at a 213 meter-long berth with alongside depths of 9 to 10 meters. The facilities, which are also served by rail, include a 120.8 thousand square meter marshaling area and 84 reefer outlets.

Industrial Canal - New Orleans

An aerial photograph of the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal or Industrial Canal. Vantage point is roughly above the Florida Avenue Bridge (not visible) looking south towards the Mississippi River. Photo by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

The Jourdan Road Terminal in the Port of New Orleans is operated by New Orleans Cold Storage. Its two berths total 426 meters in length with alongside depth of 10 meters. Facilities include a 14.8 thousand square meter warehouse with 24 dock doors on the truck/container side and four main freezer dockside freezer doors that allow for two reefer ships to be loaded at the same time. The facility's super-blast freezing systems can freeze meat products within 24 hours.

The 8.3 thousand square meter Erato Street Cruise Terminal and Parking Garage Complex is the Port of New Orleans' signature facility. The terminal has 792 meters of contiguous water frontage with a depth of 9.1 meters. Opened in late 2006, the terminal has full customs and border protection clearance facilities and an embarkation deck with more than 50 check-in counters. It is attached to the gangway by a raised air-conditioned gangway.

Adjacent to the Erato Street Cruise Terminal, the Julia Street Cruise Terminal, the Port of New Orleans' first cruise terminal, began operations in 1991. The terminal's two berths are a total of 609 meters long with alongside depth of 9.1 meters. Berth 1 has an almost four thousand square meter terminal, and Berth 2 has a 2.5 thousand square meter terminal. Both terminals have covered drive-in drop-off and pick-up areas. Originally built for the 1984 World's Fair, this Port of New Orleans terminal has been revamped several times to keep up with the increasing size of cruise vessels. It includes two distinct terminals. In 2009, the State legislature approved funding for additional improvements to the terminal, scheduled to be completed in the winter of 2010. The Port of New Orleans is also planning to expand its cruise facilities in the ByWater area adjacent to the French Quarter.

Algiers to Canal Street ferry - New Orleans

Mississippi River from Algiers side. Taken 4 April 2007.Photo by Infrogmation

The Robin Street Wharf is home to the Delta Queen Steamboat Company that operates cruises along the Mississippi River. Foreign Trade Zone #2 in the Port of New Orleans is sponsored by the Board of Commissioners and contains seven sites. Site 1 is located adjacent to the Napoleon Avenue Wharf and contains 1.2 hectares of open yard space operated by the Port of New Orleans. Site 2, a 30.8 hectare site, is located in the Almonaster-Michoud Industrial District on the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal. Dupuy Storage and Forwarding Company operates a 14.2-hectare facility on the site. New Port Industrial Park occupies the 232-hectare Site 3 in the Foreign Trade Zone. Lacour Warehousing Inc. operates a 1.6-hectare facility on Site 4 adjacent to the Louis Armstrong International Airport in Jefferson Parish. Site 5 covers a total of 73.7 hectares and contains 37 warehouse sites in Metro New Orleans operated by six general purpose operators. Covering 55 hectares, Site 6 contains the Arabi Terminal and Industrial Park. Site 7 is a 55-hectare parcel in the Chalmette Terminal and Industrial Park in St. Bernard Parish. Also in the Chalmette Terminal and Industrial Park, Site 7 covers 87.4 hectares. Foreign Trade Zone #2 also contains five manufacturing subzones for ExxonMobil Corporation (Chalmette), Murphy Oil (Meraux), Northrop Grumman Avondale Operations (Avondale), ConocoPhillips Company (Westlake), and Trinity Yachts (New Orleans).